


A handy man with a sense of humus

by Tabata



Series: Leoverse [297]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29382147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabata/pseuds/Tabata
Summary: Leo and Blaine are spending a few days at the farm and ponder over the reasons that led their older son to become a farmer.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Leoverse [297]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/30541
Kudos: 3





	A handy man with a sense of humus

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING:** This story is a **spin-off sequel** for Broken Heart Syndrome. This means that, despite not being properly set after BHS (but that's only because BHS is probably never going to have a proper ending and we'll keep talking about these people forever), it depicts things happening way late in the 'verse, and that may be on varying degrees of spoiler.
> 
> Written for: COW-T #11(Week 1)  
> prompt: Land

Blaine and Leo rarely take just _a few days off_ – it's either a two weeks minimum vacation, possibly abroad, or a three months work marathon where Leo rarely sees the light of day outside his studio and Blaine holds down the fort alone – but when they do, it's at Timmy's farm.

The reason behind this, aside from the fact that there are very few things they don't take to the extreme, is that whenever they _need_ a vacation it's because Leo is having another meltdown and he must be alone with Blaine as far as possible from anyone else, his family included. They do occasionally go on holiday like normal people do – taking some time off work, planning a visit somewhere else, booking a nice hotel and activities way ahead instead of packing over night and taking the first morning flight for wherever – but it's mostly with the kids.

There are some exceptions, though. Rare, blessed times when the twins are off on a school trip, and they just look at each other thinking the same thing: maybe they can go visit their older son and spend a weekend on the farm instead of having sex all over the empty house for once. Or better, they can have sex for two days straight, but plunged in the beauty and peace of the countryside.

Timmy and Alex bought the farmhouse and the 500 acres that went with it a few years ago from an old farmer who couldn't keep up with all the work anymore and had decided to spend the years he got left on a beach in Florida. They restored it, bought the new machinery that was needed and new animals, and then they hired people that could help Timmy on a daily basis, since Alex had no intention of becoming a farmer at all. He was going to keep working as a fashion designer from his brand new, very comfortable, very city-like office inside the big country house. With the rest of Alex's money, they also restored an old barn close to the house and made a little bed and breakfast out of it. They called it “Leone's”, in honor of the old, nice librarian Alex had worked for when he was a teen and who left him all the money they were using after he died.

Blaine and Leo are currently in one of the two small suites inside the former barn, enjoying an all-organic, all-local breakfast in bed, courtesy of the house. Actually, Blaine is having black coffee and a tiny but luscious chocolate croissant as he browses through the morning paper while Leo is eating everything else on the tray, casually reading a random magazine he found in the night stand.

“Listen to this,” Leo says, popping a piece of apple in his mouth and folding the magazine in half. “ _Your Ultimate Cardio Plan_ , _Muscle Made Easy!_ , _Rock Hard Abs!_ Who are this magazines for anyway?”

“People way less lazy than you, love,” Blaine chuckles. He finally gave in and he's wearing his reading glasses. Only when nobody else but Leo can see him, but it's still a step forward from when he pretended he didn't need them and the proceeded to avoid reading anything.

“Alright, but come on! _Be A Better Man_ , _Build Wealth For Your Family_ ,” he keeps reading, “How many advice can you give in one single issue? _17 Guy Skills Every Man Must Teach His son_ , _Stay Young, Retire Rich_ —Oh, you did this.”

“Excuse me? I'm not retired,” Blaine frowns briefly at him. “Why are you reading that garbage, anyway?”

“I found it in the drawer.”

That's a logic enough answer for Leo, who can get distracted very easily and, sometimes, starts doing something just because he casually stumbled into it. Last week he went downstairs to make himself a sandwich and two minutes later Blaine found him sitting at the kitchen counter doing a puzzle Logan had left there. The sandwich half done.

So, yes, he's reading the magazine because it was there.

“I thought you were sticking to a strict diet of comics and fantasy books in preparation for your next novel,” Blaine says.

Leo turns the page and scans it briefly to see if there's something worth reading. “I left my reader in the car,” he explains. “I was meant to go get it after we brought in the suitcases. It's your fault I didn't.”

“ _My_ fault?”

“You kissed me, I got distracted, we had sex, you know how it goes,” Leo explains, and unfortunately Blaine knows it very well. Once you turn Leo on, and a kiss is more than enough, sometimes even words do the trick, there is no stopping him. To be honest, Blaine kissed him on purpose, so he can't really blame him. “Oh, that's interesting. Apparently, a survey taken last year revealed that there's a rising interest in farming in the male population between the age of twenty-five and thirty. Basically right past the age of idiocy.” 

“Go figure,” Blaine sighs and puts down his reading glasses, knowing already that there is no more reading the newspaper.

“It's called the _Back to the land_ effect, a sort of reaction to the ever increasing number of disappointments of modern day life. Basically, these people look at their life, say nope, never sign for modern commodities, internet, smart working, fast food, they grab a shovel and go mucking cow shit. Do you think this is what happened to your son?”

It's always funny how Timmy is _your_ son every time he does something Leo doesn't understand nor approve of, and it's _our_ son when Leo's proud of him. “I honestly don't know,” Blaine answers. “It still befuddles me how someone with his background ended up being a self-made farmer.”

Leo snorts. “Now you're being classist. Not all farmers are poor people.”

“I didn't mean it like that,” Blaine goes on. “There's nothing wrong in what he does, and being a farmer is a perfectly legitimate career choice. It is just unusual for someone like him. I mean, you had basically the same upbringing and I wouldn't have pictured you breeding animals, and in fact you didn't. Besides, farming is mostly an inherited job. You grow up on a farm, you learn how to take care of it, more often than not you keep it and you run it after your parents die. How many of your friends or Timmy's friends are farmers now? No one. It's not really about money, it's just a whole different world than ours.”

Blaine was very surprised when his son expressed the wish to become a farmer, after spending a summer on Vince's farm in Italy. In fact, Blaine thinks Timmy's exact words were _Dad, I know what I want to do with my life. I want to breed pigs._.

He was about eighteen at the time.

He had the looks, the education, the resources to do literally anything he wanted to do in most parts of the world – it would have killed Blaine to know he wanted to study or work abroad, but he would have let him and paid for it too – and Timmy wanted to breed pigs in the country in Ohio.

Blaine wasn't exactly disappointed. Or maybe he was a little, but most of all he couldn't understand. Timmy had always played a lot of different sports growing up. So many that Blaine was pretty sure he was going to choose one and pursue a career in that field. Or, alternatively, he was going to try his luck in modeling. Timmy was naturally handsome, one of those people that are gorgeous without even trying. He had all he needed to be good at the job and Blaine could direct him to the right people, having been a model himself when he was younger.

But after showing no interest in those or any other job, Timmy had had the revelation and he wasn't budging. Not that Blaine expected him to. Timmy might take his sweet time to decide something, but when he makes up his mind, that's it.

And so, being the wonderful father that he is, Blaine supports his son unconditionally. That doesn't mean he understands his choice at all.

“Maybe it was because of Alex,” Leo muses as he keeps on eating from the breakfast tray as if his stomach had no bottom. “He went to Vince's farm once, fell in love with his son, kept on going, until the two things got mixed up and he learned to love the job.”

“That could be an explanation if the farmer had been Alex himself, not his father,” Blaine chuckles. “But on one thing you're right, Timmy definitely found his love for the land going to visit Alex. He had always loved farm animals as a kid, but his passion bloomed on Vince's farm.”

Leo shrugs again. “I will never understand what is there to be passionate about.”

“That doesn't surprise me. You don't like getting your hands dirty, love,” Blaine chuckles. “You're squeamish, you detest the sun unless you are on the beach and your love for animals is limited to other people's pets and obscure species of fantasy creatures. It's just not your thing.”

“That's for sure.”

As he says these words, Blaine suddenly understands why Timmy loves this job so much.

The earth is a living thing that he can work and tend to, that leaves him exhausted at the end of every day but gives so much back in return. He can create something, mold it and help it grow. Timmy, unlike his fathers, is grounded, practical, concrete. He needs physical challenges, something to touch and feel, because his passion and his love are forms of energy and all that energy needs a tangible outlet. He needs to struggle and sweat and put an incredible amount of work into his every day and then have something real to show for it.

Timmy is never happier than when he offers you an apple from his orchard and he can say “taste it, that's one of mine” and you bite into it and it's delicious. His face opens up, you can see the pride in his eyes.

This is not just a job for him, it's not really a passion. This is what he is deep inside.

Blaine is about to try and explain his own revelation on the matter to Leo when someone knocks on the door of their room. “Are you two decent?” Timmy's voice comes, curt and partially annoyed. After twenty years, he knows his parents well enough to ask that questions every time he has no clear view of what they're doing.

“We're naked!” Leo answers nonchalantly, covering Blaine's mouth before he can answer that they are, in fact, decent.

Timmy groans. “Then put some clothes on and come to the house, I wanna show you something.”

Blaine waits to hear his steps retreating. “Why did you say that?”

“Alex told me they harvested, like, a billion boxes of raspberries and they bought all the equipment to make marmalade,” Leo explains, rolling his eyes.

“I thought you were excited at the idea of making marmalade,” Blaine says. That's another thing he struggles to understand. He likes to eat marmalade? Sure. But making it? No, thanks. Supermarkets exists for a reason. But let Leo make any kind of food from scratches and you get him excited for days.

“Yes, but it's a lot of work and I'm not ready just yet.”

“And what would it take to make you ready?” Blaine asks, already knowing the answer. 

Leo grabs the tray and places it carefully on the nightstand before crawling over to him. Blaine welcomes him in his arms. Apparently, they're going to enjoy their quiet and peace on the farmland a little longer, before starting their day.

This, after all, is _their_ thing.


End file.
